Wire cutting and stripping tool



May 31, 1966 o. E. BACON WIRE CUTTING AND STRIPPING TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001;. 28, 1960 INVENTOR. Z05?- BY Q...

m w B E m w May 31, 1966 o. E. BACON WIRE CUTTING AND STRIPPING TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 28. 1960 Orve/ E. Bacan IN VENTOR.

BY MW ZYM 5,253,286 WIRE CUTTING AND STRIPPING TOOL Orvel E. Bacon, El Cajon, Calif., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Nancy Carpenter and Carolyn Carpenter Filed Oct. 28, 1960, Ser. No. 65,712 6 Claims. (Cl.-7--14.1)

The present invention relates to hand tools and more particularly to a wire cutting and stripping tool of improved construction.

The invention consists briefly of a multipurpose tool of simple and sturdy construction, and which combines in one tool a screw driver, wire cutter, a wire insulation stripper and a wire bending and shaping means. The device of the invention accordingly provides a very useful tool and one which not only saves time but saves material as well.

Furthermore, utilizing the invenion a single tool is provided which enables one to perform the work of three or four or more conventional tools. The invention saves not only time but the expense of providing an assortment of tools.

It is an important object of the invention accordingly, to provide a single tool having the multipurpose character described and wherein parts which accomplish these results are interrelated and which cooperate together as a unitary tool. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool of the character described wherein the handle functions to provide various tool members and which may be manipulated in a manner to carry out the several operations as commonly accomplished with the use of several tools or devices.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a combination tool of the character described which has particular utility in electronic work as an electricians universal tool. The tool in accordance with the invention may be employed efiiciently to cut electrical wires, strip away the insulation, twist the wires and bend and shape the terminal portion in the form of a loop or the like,

and such as can be connected to a post and firmly fastened I thereto, utilizing the screwdriver end of the tool.

These and other objects and advantages of the wire cutting and stripping tool will become apparent from the following description, and taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a tool embodying the novel features of construction and operation in accordance with the invention; the handle portion being shown partly in section to better illustrate the construction of the tool, with the shank of the screwdriver portion being broken away to conserve space;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the tool handle butt end and showing wire cutter blade in position for cutting the wire of an electrical cord or cable;

FIGURE 3 is a similar-fragmentary view of the tool handle as in FIGURE 2 and illustrating the use of an apertured portion of the handle for stripping the insulation covering from the wires;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary detail view in perspective of the front part of the tool handle portion and depicting the use of the wire insulation stripper means and bending elements of the tool;

FIGURE 5 is a view taken substantially on the line 55 of FIGURE 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

'FIGURE 6 is a similar View to FIGURE 5 depicting the use of the tool for forming loops in electrical wiring commonly used for making electrical connection to screwthreaded post terminals;

United States Patent 0 T Patented May 31, I966 FIGURE 7 is an exploded view in perspective illustrating the several parts of the tool and its construction;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a rear portion of the tool handle showing the construction thereon;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken through the handle of the tool and substantially on line 9-9 of FIGURE 8 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 10 is a section view through the tool handle shown on lines 1010 of FIGURE 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing an electrical wire portion which has been stripped of insulation and looped by employing the tool of the invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein similar reference characters indicate like parts through out the several views; the improved tool comprise a handle, generally designated 15, and which may be made of wood, metal or plastic, or the like and which handle is provided with a fixedly mounted shank 17 of a screwdriver element 18.

The tool handle 15 is composed of a demountable halfsection 20 which is adapted to be bolted or otherwise firmly secured to the main handle portion 22 as by means of machine bolts 24 and 25 as best shown in FIGURES 7 and 10. These machine bolts 24- and 25, which are uti' lized to secure the handle parts 20 and 22 together, are countersunk in the handle portion 22 as shown at 27 and 28. At the opposite nut-receiving end of the bolts the same are likewise countersunk in the handle portion 20, as depicted at 30 and 31, the bolts 24 and 25 being threaded to receive the nuts 34 and 36, respectively.

The handle portion 22, as shown in FIGURE 7, is provided with a cut-away section 38 which is adapted to re ceive an apertured wire insulation stripper plate 40 which cooperates and is adapted to be brought in registration with a correspondingly apertured wire cutter blade 42 to strip insulation covering from wires. The Wire cutter blade 42 is slidably mounted in handle 15 whereby it can be shifted in and out of the end of the handle as indicated by the arrow in FIGURE 10.

To permit the wire cutter blade 42, to be shifted axially of the handle, the blade is provided with elongated apertures 44 and 45 receiving the machine bolts 24 and 25 respectively. To yieldably hold the coacting insulation stripper plate 40 and cutter blade 42 firmly together in the handle, a coil spring 48 is arranged about the shank of the fastening bolt 24. The coil spring 48 is suitably mounted in a countersunk chamber 50 and is compressed between the plate 40 and the bottom wall of the countersunk chamber 50 as shown in FIGURE 10.

The wire cutter blade 42 is preferably made of tool steel and comprises a sharpened end portion 53 capable of cutting electrical cable wires such as depicted at 54 in FIGURE 2. Further, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 10 the plate 40 comprises an annular wire insulation stripping means whereby upon inserting an electrical wire and engaging the insulation covering with the stripper and rotating the handle the insulation can be stripped away.

This insulation stripping means comprises an apertured section 55 in plate 40 having an annular cutting beveled edge portion 56 which is adapted to be brought to substantial axial alignment and coact with a corresponding apertured section 57 having a like annular cutting beveled edge portion 58 on the'wire cutter blade 42,-as shown in FIGURE 10. These two annular cutting edges 56 and 58 coact when a wire is inserted through the apertured sections and the blade 42 shifted to perform the stripping operation. The apertured section 55 of plate 40 communicates with the aperture 82 in the handle of the tool through which the electrical wire of a cable is inserted for carrying out the stripping operation. This is illustrated best in FIGURE 3. The wire from which the insulation is to be stripped is merely inserted into the aperture 82 of the handle and the wire cutter blade 42 shifted to bind the wire against the cutting edge 56 and rotating the handle about the wire while pulling the wire out thus stripping the same of insulation.

To facilitate shifting of the Wire cutter blade in and out of the tool handle, the blade is provided with a knurled button 60 which is integral with the blade and which is shaped to slidably fit in the elongated groove 62 formed in the side of the tool handle. The knurled section 60 of the'blade 42 is preferably countersunk in the handle, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the blade being arranged to slide in the elongated aperture 64. In such a construction the knurled button fits snugly beneath the surface of the handle so that the operator can firmly grasp and operate the tool.

For bending electrical wires to form loop portions, the tool handle is provided with a wire bending blade 65. The latter is fixedly secured in the tool handle along the shank portion 66, as best seen in FIGURE 1. The bending blade 65 is arranged directly adjacent the shank 17 of the screw driver element of the tool. The outer end of the wire bending blade 65 is rounded and tapered, as at 68, to receive and bend an electrical wire or cable 69 of an electrical cord 70 as illustrated in FIGURE 4. Utilizing such a constructed tool one may readily bend electrical wires as desired by grasping the wire and inserting it in between blade 65 and shank 17 to bend the wire to the shape desired. By manipulation the tool, as illustrated by the arrows in FIGURES and 6, the terminal end of an electrical wire, such as has already been bared of insulation as at 72, can be bent into a small loop as shown at 74 in FIGURE 6.

The tool handle portion is also provided with apertures 76 as shown in FIGURE 9 for receiving the bared end of an electrical wire whereby the same may be bent or shaped at any desired angle suchas illustrated by the dotted lines and arrow at 80 in FIGURE 9. Similarly a larger aperture 82 is provided in the tool handle and which extends through the body of the handle which is adapted to receive a wire or cable 85 to be stripped of insulation covering and such as shown at 86. This insulation stripping operation is accomplished as heretofore described by inserting the cable or wire having the insulation on the wireinto the handle aperture 82 to a desired length which outer portion of the wire is to be stripped of insulation. The insulating covering such as illustrated at 86 may be stripped from the wire by insertion of the wire in the aperture 82 in the handleand binding the wire cutter blade against the wire. A beveled edge section 89 on the end of the handle, as shown in FIGURE 7 provides a useful guide when stripping insulation from wire.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to the embodiment of the tool which accomplishes the improved results and which is useful as a unitary tool, it will be understood that various changes and modifications of the same may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and improvement features as hereinabove described. It will be also understood that the invention may be modified and used for various uses other than that particularly set forth and described and the invention is not to be limited except as to the claims herein appended and which set forth the inventive features of my new tool.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A wire processing tool comprising a handle, a wire cutter blade slidably retained by said handle, said cutter blade having a knurled button for manipulating said blade to shift the same axially of said handle, stripper plate means mounted in said handle, said stripper plate and said cutter blade having apertured sections for receiving an electrical wire compring insulation covering which is to be stripped therefrom, the apertured section of said stripper plate being beveled to provide a cutting edge portion for stripping said insulation from the wire, and said handle being provided with apertures communicating with said apertured sectionsof said stripper plate and cutter blade whereby wire may be passed through said handle.

2. A wire processing tool as set forth in claim 1 wherein said handle is provided with an elongated groove for receiving said knurled button.

3. A wire processing tool comprising an elongated handle, a stripper means having a stripping aperture mounted within said handle, said stripping means including a beveled knife edge extending around the periphery of said aperture, .a transverse bore extending through said handle, said stripping aperture being aligned with said bore, wire moving means movable connected to said handle, one portion of the latter means including an aperture located adjacent said stripping aperture, and manual operating means connected to the wire moving means for moving said portion towards said stripping aperture and into substantial alignment therewith whereby the insulation on any wire extending through said bore may be cut.

4. A tool as defined in claim 3 wherein said stripper means and wire moving means comprise flat plates slidable relative to one another, each plate having a beveled knife edge extending around the periphery of its respective aperture, and said apertures being substantially aligned with said bore.

5. A wire processing tool for bending stripped wire into a loop comprising a handle having an end face, a cylindrical shank extending axially from said end face of said handle, and wire bending means comprising a longitudinally elongated blade fixedly secured in said end face of the handle, said blade including a tapered edge extending from the end face of said handle and disposed adjacent the pheriphery of said cylindrical shank and terminating in a rounded end spaced longitudinally inwardly of the end of said cylindrical shank, the tapered edge of the blade being in acute angular relation to the periphery of the cylindrical shank and spaced therefrom throughout its length for accommodating wires of various sizes and efficiently forming a loop from any of the various size wires.

6. The method of processing an electrical conductor in preparation for attaching it to an electrical contact member comprising the steps of cutting a wire to a desired length, stripping the insulation therefrom by inserting the wire into an elongated aperture having circular knife edges and rotating the aperture relative to the wire,and bending the stripped wire into a loop by disposing the wire between a cylindrical member and a relatively movable member spaced therefrom, rotating the relatively movable member with respect to the cylindrical member in one direction and then rotating the relatively movable member with respect to the cylindrical member in the other direction thus forming a loop.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,047,934 12/ 1912 Griffin -124 1,086,463 2/1914 Robbins 30-113 1,119,220 12/1914 Bates 30113 1,954,726 4/ 1934 Corona 140124 2,809,676 10/1957 Kirkwood 14-124 2,848,914 8/1958 Gottfried 819.5

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MORRIS M. FRITZ, WALTER A. SCHEEL, Examiners. 

1. A WIRE PROCESSING TOOL COMPRISING A HANDLE, A WIRE CUTTER BLADE SLIDABLY RETAINED BY SAID HANDLE, SAID CUTTER BLADE HAVING A KNURLED BUTTON FOR MANIPULATING SAID BLADE TO SHIFT THE SAME AXIALLY OF SAID HANDLE, STRIPPER PLATE MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID HANDLE, SAID STRIPPER PLATE AND SAID CUTTER BLADE HAVING APERTURED SECTIONS FOR RECEIVING AN ELECTRICAL WIRE COMPRISING INSULATION COVERING WHICH IS TO BE STRIPPED THEREFROM, THE APERTURED SECTION OF SAID STRIPPER PLATE BEING BEVELED TO PROVIDE A CUTTING EDGE PORTION FOR STRIPPING SAID INSULATION FROM THE WIRE, AND SAID HANDLE BEING PROVIDED WITH APERTURS COMMUNICATING WITH SAID APERTURED SECTIONS OF SAID STRIPPER PLATE AND CUTTER BLADE WHEREBY WIRE MAY BE PASSED THROUGH SAID HANDLE. 